Chapter Thirteen

Morid Curiosity

The skeletal remains of the deciduous trees stretched skyward into the overcast canvas. Fall had come and stripped all but the evergreens of their leaves. Their brown and orange corpses littered the woods floor to be blown by the wind over the courtyards and congregate in all the damp corners.

Several days of heavy rain had held Karou captive in the unit, as she would have ended up soaked to the bone if she'd dared venture out to the tavern where she often met her friends.

It was late October, and Warren was in Russia; he'd used the plane ticket he'd been gifted for his birthday. Things between she and Warren had returned to what she now considered normal since his mentor and Sire's departure. He would work all day and only talk to her sparingly throughout whatever movie they watched of an evening. Some nights it was just background noise to Warren's wind down and her sketching or reading.

She never mentioned the few days in September when it felt as if they'd turned a corner, but in her sleep, she had wasted plenty of dreams re-living those moments; the closeness, the kisses, the tender touches, and the one time he'd set his fangs on her. All hope that anything like that would reoccur had disappeared. Warren had shut her out again, proving that all her efforts to be his 'friend' had been in vain.

Warren had left just over a week ago, and she hadn't heard from him since, not that she expected to. The place he'd gone was called Blue Ash; that was all she could glean from the snippets of phone conversations she overheard between him and Magnus. The place-name meant nothing to her; she'd never heard of such a place and presumed it was a code name, or perhaps another Compound.

Warren seemed to have rekindled his strange relationship with Ellis and had called her often before his trip. In fact, Karou didn't doubt that he would be spending most of his nights in her bed during his stay in Russia.

Ellis' jealousy must've been disproved by now, but Karou hated the feeling that perhaps she was now the harbourer of the ugly and green envious emotion. To an outsider, it probably looked like Karou had attempted to steal Ellis' man, and she'd inevitably won him back. The vampiress held an imaginary victory over her, and there was something about that that Karou didn't like either. It was uncomfortable having bad blood between herself and another person, even if that person was as despicable as Ellis.

The reality of the situation was worse, though - Karou's own curiosity had made a fool out of her because she'd allowed herself to be used by Warren, and now she was left feeling completely invaluable. She was undoubtedly a meaningless fling to him, and it hurt that her first sexual experiences had been insignificant to the other party involved. Somehow, she still couldn't hate him, though.

In his absence, she spread herself out in the unit's queen-sized bed every night and tried to enjoy the space it granted her, but all it actually did was cause her to feel incredibly lonely. It wasn't the same when she sat watching TV without Warren's moody form looming in her peripherals. How can you miss someone that doesn't care about you? She wondered, but then she would argue with herself for hours about whether or not he did. Many of the things he did for her proved otherwise. Still, he'd shut her out again, and along with all the cold shoulders, there was an overwhelming amount of evidence that he merely tolerated her. That was when the thought that gnawed away at her and kept her up at night surfaced – had Warren retreated because she had pushed him away? Since she'd rejected him the night of his birthday, he'd retracted back into himself, and for that, she felt guilty and annoyed at herself. If she'd just given in to what he wanted, she might not have been in the lonely position she was in now. She'd cut her nose off to spite her face and was bitter about it.

That morning she laid in until gone noon. Having brought a good book to bed with her the night before, the first thing she did upon waking was to get right back to where she'd left off. It was getting to the good bit; she could feel it. With the blinds up to let the grey autumnal daylight flood in, she sat with all the pillows piled behind her as she turned page and after page, consuming the novel with eager eyes.

When he walked in, the first thing that hit him was the heat! Having come from the outside, where the wind had chilled his face, it was uncomfortable to walk into.

Setting down his luggage and pulling off his boots, he turned down the thermostat and ventured further inside. The unit wasn't too much of a mess considering Karou had been left to her own devices. She was a naturally untidy person and only cleaned if she was stressed, and then she became a Swedish death cleaner and frantically tidied everything in sight.

There was no sign of Karou in the lounge or the kitchen, and when he peered into her room and the bathroom, he found she wasn't there either. The only clues that she'd been there at all was the scatter cushions, and a blanket clustered her corner of the couch. A used mug still sat on the coffee table along with her sketchbook and pencils. The dishes from the previous evenings' meal were piled in the sink, still to be clean. Finding her where she was, had never crossed his mind. So he boldly opened the door to his bedroom and walked right in.

Who had been more surprised neither of them could know. Karou screamed as Warren burst in without announcing himself and instantly dropped the book she'd been reading to tug the sheets up to her chin. Coincidentally, she'd been sat there in just her underwear, a flimsy lace bralette, and the French style panties to match.

Equally, Warren hadn't expected her to be sat in his bed so scantily clad, but he quickly realised he should've known better - didn't she always use his bed if he was away? He was back a few days early due to having to rearrange his work schedule mid-trip, and of course, she wouldn't have known he was returning home because he hadn't called to tell her.

Before she could cover herself, he'd seen what she was wearing. Putting two and two together, he came out with five somehow and turned to peer around the room and hallway behind. "Is there a man in here? Uh, am I interrupting something? Warren asked, his tone sounding both bewildered and accusatory all at the same time.

"How is that the first thing you say to me when you get back?!" Karou huffed; her expression was incredulous.

"Then why are you in my bed in just your underwear?"

"Because it's hot... I mean, it was cold last night, so I turned the heat up, and then I got hot in my sleep."

"And you didn't get up to turn the heat down?"

"No... It was really late, and then this morning I... I got hooked on this book and haven't actually gotten up yet."

"So... There isn't a man here?"

"Oh my God, Warren! No! You should know better than to ask me that. My sex life isn't as interesting as yours." To be honest, it's non-existent. Karou sassed. The bedroom was tidy save for the pile of 'worn once' clothes she'd abandoned on Warren's piano stool. Now while awkwardly keeping the sheet around her with one hand, she gathered as many of her clothes from it as she could - apparently, she was vacating his room and giving it back to him and in rather a hurry. Warren moved aside to let Karou leave and watched her dump her clothes onto her bed before returning for the rest of her things, a few stray items of clothing but, most importantly, her book. "I'll strip the bed and get your sheets washed." She muttered as she left the room for the second and final time.

Warren sat himself down on the piano stool and tried to be discrete about the deep breath he took; for a moment, he revelled in the fact that his whole room smelled of Karou. It left him with mixed emotions but definitely suffering from a dose of melancholy. Karou was cross with him for retreating back behind his façade, but it was all he could do to behave since she made it clear that she didn't want to be toyed with. He recognised that he probably deserved whatever attitude she threw at him. The situation had unravelled and turned into something that he'd never intended - of course; he'd never planned for Karou to get tied up in one of Ellis' jealous games.

Since she'd rejected him on his birthday, he had tried not to lay a hand on her or say anything remotely suggestive. He'd even gone to the extreme and actively encouraged her friendships with other members of the male sex; he didn't know that that had only made her bristle more.

One thing that was proving impossible, though, was keeping his eyes off her. Almost as impossible as keeping her off of his mind. Stray thoughts had somewhat ruined his trip to Blue Ash; Ellis had taken off only two days into his vacation as she couldn't cope being in the castle with Warren and his 'poisoned thoughts' any longer. Incidentally, her premature departure hadn't been disappointing to Warren; he enjoyed the quality time alone with Magnus far more. They'd had many interesting conversations and together had puzzled through some of those poisoned thoughts, so Warren had ultimately come home with a clearer mind.

"I wouldn't call my sex life interesting either..." Warren mused to himself as he sat staring at the crumpled mattress sheet; the folds she left in her wake encapsulated her scent. It was particularly torturous how appealing her scent was because since feeding from Karou, nothing else really sated him, and bloodthirst came quicker. For now, he thought it was merely psychological, some evil trick his mind was playing on him, along the lines of making him want what he couldn't have.

In her bedroom, Karou had dressed in leggings and a black tank top beneath a 'too big' fit sweater and stepped into the hallway just as Warren spoke. She thought he had been talking to her and replied absentmindedly. "Really? How is Ellis?" She instantly regretted the snide remark and felt embarrassed. "I mean Magnus, how's Magnus?"

"I spent almost all of my time with him. Ellis left for Budapest two days into my trip." Warren answered honestly, but he didn't say why and wouldn't even if she asked. "Two days with her was enough." Warren stood from the piano stool, pulled the sweater he was wearing from over his head, and tossed it onto the bed carelessly, which was unlike himself. Tugging the t-shirt fabric from his chest where it clung in the heat, he glanced at Karou in the hallway. She was still standing there and staring back at him.

Shortly after their stare off, Warren unpacked and sorted through his laundry and silently collected Karou's too. He had it all picked up at the front door by the Compounds launder. Karou washed up her dishes and then spent the rest of the day reading on the couch, and they did all this without sharing even a passing comment.

Around seven o'clock, Warren glanced at his wristwatch and thought it was late enough to settle down for the night. Lounging back into his corner of the couch, he contemplated pouring himself a drink but didn't really crave one. He just wanted a deep and restful sleep and consequently only made it to eight-thirty before his eyes flickered closed, and his head lulled back into the leather.

Karou waited, watching him from her corner of the couch. She'd stopped reading her book already and reached out to place it onto the coffee table. Perhaps twenty minutes passed, maybe thirty, but it felt like long enough for him to be fast asleep. As quietly as she could, she crawled towards him, tugging her blanket in tow. Delicately, she covered him over and left him there to sleep.

Climbing over the back of the couch, she tiptoed towards Warren's bedroom and was quietly thankfully to see the sweater she'd watched him take off earlier hadn't made it into his laundry and sat folded on his piano stool. Warren had remade his bed up in clean sheets with military precision, but with what she'd come for in sight, she quickly snatched it up and plunged her face into knitted wool and breathed in deeply. Her nose was in no way vampiric in its sensitivity, but she still enjoyed the way Warren smelled, almost sinfully. It was the only piece of her sensory memory that'd gotten lost since he'd taken his vacation. With his scent filling her nose, it brought memories of their closer times back to mind; that was her fix. She'd never felt so high or alive than the night he'd kissed and bitten her. The passionate rendezvous written in her books or in movies she'd watched didn't compare to her small glimpse of intimacy regardless of how shallow the act had been on Warren's part. If she could never have it again, she wanted to remember it for as long as possible, and if that meant sneaking a sniff of a sweater or shirt of his every so often, then so be it.

The waft of her scent he'd gotten when Karou had covered him with her blanket had roused him, and now he stood silently in the darkness of the hallway watching her. Backlit by the pale moonlight that teamed in through his vertical bedroom windows, she looked serene. He knew what she was doing, and he didn't know why but all of his assumptions as to why irritated the already present ache in his chest in a way that wasn't pleasant; he supposed it hurt.

"Karou?"

She'd never counted on Warren catching her. The sweater sailed from her hands to the floor. In explanation, a stutter was all she managed to get past her lips, and before Warren could utter another word, she brisked past him and was on her way to her room. For once, she closed her door completely to keep him out.

In bed engulfed in darkness and overwrought, Karou felt the urge to cry but wouldn't let herself.

For a little while, she slept, but all the niggly anxious emotions running around her head had made her neck feel tight. Slowly the uncomfortable pressure travelled down her back, and before she knew it, she couldn't sleep; her back hurt in all the usual places. Lately, it was getting progressively worse and more frequent. Although she'd told Warren that she'd been to see the doctor so that he'd stop asking about it, she hadn't been to see anyone. All her life, there had been something wrong with her. It had put her off engaging with medical professionals just to be told there was something else to add to her list of ailments.

An hour passed, and the pain had been somewhat bearable while lying down, but the moment it wasn't, she was out of bed and pacing the hallway.

The rain patter against the windows of his bedroom had relaxed him, but he hadn't found enough peace to fall into a deep sleep. He just listened and rested in the sheets. When another layer of pitter-patter's joined that of the rain, Warren sat up in bed. Karou's awake.

"Is it your back again?" Warren's voice called out into the darkness of the hall; Karou was pacing when he came to be standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

"Ngh- Mhmm," was all Karou replied. Their eyes didn't meet, and she didn't stop pacing. She walked the floorboards with her arms wrapped around herself, wearing the same black leggings and tank top she had worn earlier; she'd taken off her sweater before bed.

With her situation explained, Warren disappeared from the doorway, but he returned shortly with his usual remedy; a glass of water accompanied by a selection of pills. Offering out his hand to Karou, she knew the drill. Without question, she took what he offered and swallowed them.

"You know you don't have to wait until I offer; you can just come in and get them."

"I can't go through your drawer like that..."

"Then I'll put them in the bathroom cabinet for you." With that said, Warren turned to go back to his own bed. "Go get some rest, Karou."

Karou did as he instructed, seeing as it was what she wanted to do anyway. The pills worked their magic, and soon the pain subsided enough for her to fall asleep.

Warren didn't go back to bed like she might've thought. He just sat at his piano waiting; waiting for her to fall asleep. Tentatively he listened to her heartbeat and breathing pattern and for the tell-tale signs of peaceful slumber. He wouldn't admit to himself why he was waiting for her to fall asleep, but there was a reason...

(Flashback to Blue Ash a few days prior)

Davikov Castle was a cold place all year round, winter, summer, rain or shine. It was at its most peaceful at night; everyone had tucked themselves away in their private rooms, whether they slept or not, which left the common areas desolate.

Walking the stone corridors and halls barefoot calmed Warren. He'd been in turmoil for a month or so now, and the emotional stress was starting to take its toll.

The Coven kept a healthy stock of blood in the kitchen's cellar, and he'd been well fed during his stay, but that night he woke up painfully thirsty after a particularly vivid dream. The events in his dream weren't real, but they'd been inspired by something that had taken place in reality. It was the catalyst to his troubles, but at that moment, he'd only half come to that conclusion. With this thirst came a familiar ache in his thigh that threatened to become a bigger nuisance if he didn't feed himself. He'd already stopped off in the castle's kitchen and gotten himself a 'drink', but the silver-plated goblet he held in his hand was a little flashy for his taste; a glass would have sufficed, he thought. Still, he continued his night-time stroll towards the highest rooms with it grasped between his fingers.

When he arrived in the observatory, he took a seat next to none other than Magnus. "You're still awake?"

"Si, old men, don't sleep," Magnus replied, closing the book he'd been reading to look over at the man he loved as a son. They shared a stronger bond than Magnus did with his biological son, Enrique, and to Warren, Magnus was the father he'd always sought for but was left wanting in his father, Harry. "I can't sleep for the constant noise. The castle, she creaks and moans; it keeps me up. What's stirred you from your bed at this hour?"

"Dreams, thirst, pain, confusion - the usual culprits." Warren sipped at his goblet of blood before setting it down onto the table.

"You must have a lot on your mind then... but it isn't the usual thing, is it?"

"I'm not thinking about work, no. For once, I know which direction I'm heading in that department. I shouldn't have anything to worry about at all. I'm making lots of progress and lots of money; my new venture is proving successful. Cloned blood has become somewhat of a fashionable commodity amongst some of my wealthier clients. It's the new 'vegan' fad. It's ecological, clean, and sustainable. Essentially it's a big hit with the 'green freaks'. Pft, can you believe they even exist amongst our races?"

"Your sales pitch won't work on me, I'm afraid. I'm proud of you for making this big step and making money out of it, but you know I have no personal interest in manufactured blood. I like my meals supplied by 'naturally grown produce'." Magnus was old-fashioned that way, but Warren didn't blame him. He agreed that the genuine article was always better. "You're talking about work to distract from the reason you're awake, though, and that trick won't work on me either."

"Hmm, you've caught me." Warren chuckled and took another sip from his goblet. When he put it back down, he stroked his hand over the three or four days' worth of stubble that'd grown on his chin. "I don't know that it's is going to go away..."

"Si, you're stuck with her indefinitely."

"I-... I just need more time."

"She's mortal, so she can't leave until the war is over, but Warren, she doesn't have all the time in the world to wait for you to make up your mind. Either give in to her or stop wasting her time and put her out of her misery."

"You don't mean that... You like her too much." Warren looked at Magnus disapprovingly, his brow furrowed deeply over his deep blue eyes. "You're jumping off the deep end, don't you think?"

"Ha-ha! I'm not the only one that likes her too much, am I? The way I see it is this; you have two choices, you do whatever it is you're beating yourself up about doing, or you don't. And if you don't, then you'll have no choice but to get rid of her one way or another, eventually." Magnus summed up his thoughts; although he was vague, Warren ultimately knew what he was getting at.

Finally, Karou was asleep. He stepped into her room like a shadow and pulled back the sheets to gather her sleeping form into his arms. She grumbled quietly, but Warren was pleased by how she leaned into him and wound her arms about his neck instinctively. Securely in his arms, he carried her into his room and laid her down on the far side of the bed; it was the side she seemed to favour. In her sleep, she was pliable and slipped from his grasp without a fuss or waking at all. Shuffling under the sheets behind her, Warren slid his arm under the pillow at her head so she would nestle comfortably under his chin. He manoeuvred her back with his other arm and placed her hips against his so that he could curl his thighs up under hers.

Warren had never been one to instigate moments like this before, and truthfully, he hadn't laid in bed with a woman he wasn't currently involved with since he'd been engaged to Camille. He and Ellis didn't lie and hold each other, and all the other women he'd had sexual encounters with had been paid for or were mutually agreed one-night stands; cuddling certainly wasn't on the cards at any of those liaisons. So, he figured that he was overdue some intimacy, though it was extraordinarily rare for him to crave it. Still, when he did, he usually had no other option than to put such thoughts aside and throw himself into something work-related before cursed loneliness crept up on him. Karou's presence in his life had turned everything he took for granted upside down, but with his nose nuzzled into her soft hair and her scent filling each of his breaths, he struggled to imagine a more pleasant way to fall asleep. It was comfortable how her petite body fit against his so naturally and calming having her next to him too, blissful even.

Hours passed like that until Warren had to turn over to switch off his alarm. Karou roused a little when he moved, but he caught the beeps just in time not to wake her fully. With Warren sprawled on his back, Karou rolled over and curled herself back into his side. It surprised Warren a little, but ultimately, he relaxed and closed his eyes again, even though he knew sleep wasn't likely to return. Instead, he just laid there and waited got Karou to wake up. One of her dainty hands spanned over his chest, and he gently held her wrist, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

Karou would wake up eventually; he just hoped that she didn't freak out when she realised where she was. Thirty minutes later, she moaned her way into wakefulness and nuzzled her face into his t-shirt as she came to. With bated breath, Warren waited for her reaction. "Mmm, what happened?" she murmured.

"I had you sleep in my bed... with me," Warren replied, honestly. He supposed it really was that simple.

"Why'd you do that?" Karou asked; taking her hand from his chest, she rubbed over her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow. She remained tucked into his side, though, and looked down at his face with an adorable, confused expression, but at least she was calm.

"I don't have a reason or excuse; I just wanted you to." He lied. Now that she'd moved her hand, he positioned his hand behind his head instead.

"So, you just brought me in here, and we slept?"

"Yes, Karou. As easy as it would have been to do any number of things to you while you were out cold, I didn't."

"Hmm, the way you said that makes you sound suspicious, but I believe you." Karou looked around at their current position and gnawed at her lip. Seeing as he wasn't fighting to get away or insisting she should leave quickly, she laid her head back down onto his chest and her hand too. "Can we talk?"

"That means you have something you want to talk about…"

"Yeah, I have a few things I want to say. Questions I need to ask." Karou took a deep breath before she continued. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how my being here causes you problems and might've ruined your birthday visit from Magnus and Ellis. But I also wanted to ask if anything like what happened then might happen again?" Gauging Warren's stunned silence, Karou thought she'd better add her expectations. "I know the answer is probably no, but I just need to hear you say it."

"What happened… Ellis and I are to blame for. I put both you and her in a compromising position with my selfish actions, and she acted as badly about it as she possibly could have. I saw it coming and carried on regardless. I have some choices to make Karou, mistakes have already been made. I know that. I just need some more time."

"While you're making up your mind then, do you think you could make some more' mistakes'?" Boldly Karou lifted her head to look at him directly; she looked hopeful when she posed her request.

"You always ask for so much."

"I've always had so little... If you don't ask, you don't get, right?"

"It's taken me a long time to decipher what I've got to decide between, and neither option is pretty. Karou, this doesn't end well for you."

"What are your choices?" Karou asked open-mindedly.

"To sire you or..." Warren stalled, he wished he didn't have to say it, but he closed his eyes and bravely spoke the second option into reality. "Put you out of your misery."

Karou was shocked by how bluntly he stated his choices. For a moment, she wondered where the option to stay there, as a mortal, until the war was over had gone, but seeing as she didn't really want that, it didn't really matter to her that he seemed to have he'd made his mind up that those were the only two alternative options. He put them forward with such conviction she figured there was no point in arguing. "Well, the first isn't likely, but that's okay, you've already told me to find someone else t-"

"No one here will entertain you. I've already made sure of that. I've been pulling strings behind your back for months, taking your choice away from you before you'd fully set your heart on them. I know that's manipulative, but I'm not sorry. I just can't let you choose Vampirism. So, seeing as I'm not going to sire you, the only option is the latter, do you understand?"

"You're serious, aren't you?" Karou felt she had to ask because the situation had taken a turn for the surreal.

"Have you ever known me to be anything other than serious?"

"Well… No, but -, I mean…. If that's inevitable then, you're just deciding when?" The irony that she laid in the arms of her killer would've balled most people over - caused them to stagger to their feet and run, run for their lives, but not Karo - she was brave.

Truth be told, she'd always imagined that her death would come at the hands of the people that had given her life, to begin with, so the prospect of being killed by Warren wasn't that frightening at all. There was the possibility that he'd be merciful in his method, at least. Her eyes welled up a little, though; she couldn't deny she was a little disappointed it'd had to come to this. For a while, she'd felt free, felt that she'd been given another chance to chase a better life. "Can we wait 'til my birthday?" At least now she had answers, a direction to move in even if it led to an end, but didn't all things lead to an end anyway? She laid her head back down onto his chest.

"You're taking this awfully well. I can't decide if you're fearless or ..." Warren was bewildered by her reaction. Her request to wait was reasonable, he supposed, but how could she be so calm and level-headed given what he'd just said? He remembered the taste of fear as he fought for his life on the floor or his Parisian apartment when he was attacked and accidentally sired by Ellis all those years ago. "Why do you want to wait until your birthday? Isn't that a little morbid?"

"I suppose I've been living on borrowed time for a while… At least now I know that I have a way out of this limbo I've existed in. Oh, and twenty is a nice round number, and there are a few things I'd like to do first. I know my options are limited because I'm stuck here, but I think I can work with that. I've got a month to complete my bucket list."

"You don't want longer than a month?" A small part of him wanted her to rethink her acceptance of her fate and say yes and put it off for as long as he would allow. In truth, he didn't know how long that would be, but it was probably much longer than a month.

"This way, I get a month, and I'll have lived here a year. A year is nothing to you, right? With all your years ahead of you, you can forget a year easily." Karou's mind was running through the things she would like to do, but some self-explanatory ones were at the top. "Are you planning on putting me on one of those machines?"

"No, why'd you ask?" Laid staring at the ceiling, Warren felt like this was one of his weirder, darker dreams. It almost certainly fell into the phantasmagorical category.

"I don't really care about what happens once it's over. Y'know, if you'd just let someone else sire me, I would've left here. I wouldn't have looked back or snitched to anybody that you're all here. I like a lot of the people that live here; some are my friends, I wouldn't want to hurt them."

"Perhaps I realise that now; that's why the decision was so difficult to make..."

Karou sat up and stretched her arms up into the air, and let out a great yawn. "So, breakfast?"